1 Peter 1:19 (NIV) ~ But with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

There is no other verse in the whole of the New Testament that calls blood precious, except in 1 Peter 1:19 which says, “the precious blood of Jesus Christ.”

Oh the blood of Jesus, that washes white as snow. This is not a medieval, draconian practise, nor one steeped in a sinister age of paganistic ceremony. Neither is it some religious form of sacrificial worship in a vain attempt to appease a blood thirsty deity. But to be washed in the precious blood of Jesus, is to, by faith, accept that his blood can, not only wash away our sins, but it can cleanse us from all sin. Picture if you will this little parable: Jesus can pull the plug on all the rubbish, dirt and filth in our lives, and by His cleansing, powerful, sin-destroying blood, wash it clean away.

His blood is precious, His blood is unique, and His blood is holy and powerful. The Bible says in Acts 20:28 (NIV), “Be shepherds of the church of God which He bought with His own blood”. His blood type, or group, was not passed down from one generation to another, but He was born of God, through, and by, a miracle. He is God’s one and only Son.

William Cowper (1731-1800) once wrote:

There is a fountain filled with blood; drawn from Immanuel’s veins;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

His blood has the power to cleanse and heal,

His blood has the power to set the prisoner free,

His blood can make the foulest clean,

His blood availed for you and me.

The Greek word for “precious” in 1 Peter 1:19, is timios, meaning valuable, honoured, worth and costly. His blood is priceless and matchless in power, His blood is honoured by God who is true to His word in Hebrews 9:22 (NIV), “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins”. The cost of our forgiveness, the cost of our salvation to be saved form our sins, was the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Lamb without blemish, spot or wrinkle, who shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary for the cause that was worth it all, the saving of souls.

There is a song so full of paean and worship unto Jesus about His blood, written by Michael Christ, with these loving, tender words:

It’s Your blood that cleanses me, it’s Your blood that gives me life,

It’s Your blood that took my place, in redeeming sacrifice,

And washes me whiter than the snow, than the snow,

My Jesus, God’s precious sacrifice.

My friend, when we ask for forgiveness from the Lord, we must confess our sin and believe in the promise of God from 1 John 1:7 (KJV), “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin”; for His blood is holy, pure, powerful and precious. The Bible says in Acts 3:19 (NIV), “Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”. Today, confess your sin and let His precious blood wash you as white as snow.